MIDDLEBURY — Most of the dozen or so questions Gov. Peter Shumlin fielded at the Legislative Lunch at Middlebury’s American Legion hall on Monday dealt with the proposed natural gas pipeline that would bisect the county.
But in his limited time in Middlebury the governor also briefly touched upon:
•His hope to have all New England states raise their minimum wage rates to $10.10 per hour by 2017.
•The need to provide better training for Vermont students — particularly those from low-income families — to take on the new wave of manufacturing jobs at industries like General Electric.
•The ongoing battle against opiates and drug addiction.
•Vermont’s transition to single-source recycling by 2020. He alluded to that effort in response to a recommendation from the crowd that he support expansion of the state’s Bottle Bill. Shumlin said he did not believe such a move would dovetail with the single-source recycling effort.